American singer/songwriter Sonia Leigh is that rare thing, an out country star. She’s coming to Whelan’s in Dublin this month to treat Irish audiences to her melting-pot of indie, pop and country rock stylings, so we thought there was no better time to put ten pertinent questions her way.

Hi Sonia! Tell us, as an out lesbian in the country music scene, have you experienced any direct discrimination against you?

I have never made my sexuality an issue in my music. It is a separate part of me. My career has nothing to do with whom I choose to love. There are some people who do have a problem being close with me because I am out. They worry that people will think they are gay and it will hurt their careers. If there has been a problem it was behind my back, and it’s probably best kept that way!

Who are the two biggest influences on your music?

My father who taught me to play guitar and my mother who loved music and always exposed me to songs she loved.

Describe the themes you explore with your music in five words.

Love, death, heartbreak, sex and fun.

Who or what is the greatest love of your life?

Music is the love of my life. Like Stevie Nicks says: “Women they will come and they will goo ew woah ew woah”.

What is your proudest moment?

Touring with the great Loretta Lynn. She’s a country music legend and was my very first concert when I was five years old.

If you could duet with any singer in the world today, who would it be and why?

I would really like to work with Sia. I keep saying that in hopes one day she will read an interview and check me out! I have much respect for her not only because we are both Sagittarians (lol), but she has a history of writing all styles. I love the place she writes from. She seems to have the same angle on music as far as writing what she wants.

I also would like to do a hip-hop track with Iggy Azalea and test out my skills, because I love to rap!

I think I would just cry if I ever got to be in Stevie Nicks’ presence so I don’t know if I could sing a single note around that woman.

Do you have any Irish in your blood?

I am pretty sure I do, as much as I love Jameson Whiskey! I can really put away some whiskey!

Who would play you in the Hollywood biopic of your life, and what would it be called?

I would have Parker Posey play me because I adore her! It would be called

“My Ironic Life: some things never change and some things are ever changing”.

If the world were ending tomorrow, what would you do today?

I would eat as much of everything I love, drink a ton of whiskey with my friends, have sex as much as possible, tell the people that I love that I love them, tell the people that are assholes to jump in a lake, and play music until the sky fell in on us all.

The meaning of life according to Sonia?

Now is all we have. I may die broke, because I don’t hold onto money, or material things – they don’t matter. When my mother died I realised how short life is, and that we could go at any time. So I live my life to the fullest. I don’t think, I do. Give and be good to people, don’t be selfish. Don’t say “I can’t”, say “how can I?”

Sonia Leigh plays Whelan’s with Sasha McVeigh on April 19, tickets here. Find out more at sonialeigh.com